Canadian business leaders emphasize the need for urgent action and impactful partnerships for the Global Goals
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Canada
The following is an article submitted by a Global Compact Local Network. Please contact the network representative listed below with any questions regarding its contents.
TORONTO, 10 September 2019 — Nearly 200 Canadian leaders from business, non-profits, Government and civil society convened to the two-day Making Global Goals Local Business — Canada summit that underscored the impact of multi-stakeholder partnerships and responsible business action in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In her welcoming remarks, the Honorable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, remarked, “(The) agenda for these two days is most impressive. It betrays an important realization: When others can’t act, businesses will. Where wicked problems abound, businesses will tackle them with innovation.”
She added, “The private sector is an essential agenda-setter without which we cannot become truly resilient. Working on both global and local scales is how business can make the greatest impact. Sustainability, like businesses, cannot work in isolation: you operate both within and beyond sectoral and jurisdictional boundaries.”
Organized by the United Nations Global Compact and Global Compact Network Canada, the summit was part of the Making Global Goals Local Business campaign, a multi-year strategy to mobilize businesses to advance the Global Goals at the local level. It focused on how integration and implementation of the SDGs in business strategies and operations is a key contribution to the realization of the Global Goals, and a vehicle for achieving the vision of the 2030 Agenda.
Speaking about the progress made towards the SDGs, Ayman Chowdhury, Head of Secretariat of Global Compact Network Canada, said, “We are not on track to achieve the goals by 2030. More urgent cross-cutting actions are needed to accelerate progress. The private sector needs to pay more attention to the interconnected megatrends that are driving the new era of business and opening up new horizons for transformative change.”
Participants at the summit — which was themed “Partnerships for the SDGs” — discussed topics such as climate action, the role of the C-suite, gender equality, youth engagement, SDG impact reporting, and the role of smart cities and innovation.
The audience was also introduced to the recently launched “Business Ambition for 1.5°C – Our Only Future” campaign. The campaign is a call-to-action issued by a broad coalition of businesses, civil society and UN leaders urging companies to set verifiable science-based targets consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5°C and limiting the worst impacts of climate change.
Ana Bailão, Deputy Mayor of the City of Toronto, gave the audience an overview of the city’s goals and plans of action for advancing the SDGs on a municipal scale.
Scotiabank was the official host sponsor of the summit, “At Scotiabank we are committed to delivering sustainable business practices for every future,” said Brendan Seale, Chief Sustainability Officer at Scotiabank. “Through our sponsorship and participation at the UN Global Compact’s Making Global Goals Local Business Summit, we were provided the opportunity to hear new perspectives around business innovation for sustainability, explore a variety of approaches to build a more progressive and sustainable Canadian private sector and continue the important conversation around gender representation in the workplace.”
Contact
Yvonne Ho
Global Compact Network Canada
Email: yvonne@globalcompact.ca
Tel: +1 647-715-9426 Ext. 104